1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to voice messaging systems. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to voice messaging systems for terminated communication sessions, particularly for network-based instant connect communication sessions.
2. The Relevant Technology
During recent years, various forms of mobile communication devices using radio signals have become more widely used. An early example of mobile communication, and one which has been in use for decades, is two-way radio devices, commonly known as “walkie-talkies.” One of the convenient features of walkie-talkies is the ability to immediately initiate communication with recipients without requiring the user who initiates the communication to input a telephone number or to wait while call setup is performed. Instead, the user merely presses a button on the mobile communication device and begins speaking. Any recipient device that is within range and is tuned to the selected frequency immediately receives the voice data. The receiving party can immediately receive the communication without having to respond to a ring or other audible signal, such as those that have been associated with the act of answering a ringing telephone.
A typical walkie-talkie communication session occurs when participating devices are tuned in to a particular radio frequency. The communication session is a half-duplex event and the data can only flow in one direction at a time. In contrast, in a full-duplex communication session data can flow in both directions at one time. For example, mobile telephones operate over a network often using a full-duplex communication channel that uses code-division or time division multiplexing.
The convergence of walkie-talkie radio communication and mobile telephone communication is often referred to as “push-to-talk” or “PTT,” which offers a near instant connection between users. One example of a PTT system is Nextel's iDEN-based Push to Talk (also known as Direct Connect®) service. PTT systems may also be implemented using standard voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP) technologies or other IP telephony technologies, wherein voice information is sent in digital form over IP-based data networks. Such PTT systems are hereinafter referred to as “network-based instant connect systems” or “NBIC systems,” and they can be deployed on many types of networks, including wireless and wireline networks.
A network-based instant connect call is a telephone call established using a network, but in a way that is designed to give the user the experience of a conventional or personal walkie-talkie call. For instance, in wireless networks, NBIC calls are initiated when the user selects a recipient from a contact list on the mobile device and presses the talk button. Likewise, NBIC calls are received by automatically activating the receiving device for immediate output of voice data without requiring the recipient to manually respond to a ring or other audible signal.
One shortcoming of network-based instant connect communication as compared to conventional mobile telephone communication is the absence of a voice messaging system. For example, a sending user may attempt to initiate a PTT or NBIC session with a receiving user only to discover that the receiving user is non-responsive, which may occur if the receiving user is busy, out of network coverage, lacking device power, unavailable, not near his or her communication device, or the like. The sending user may desire to leave a message for the receiving user but is unable to do so unless willing to take some additional action, such as sending the receiving user an SMS or MMS message; or making a regular telephone call, waiting for the receiving user's voicemail server to pick up the call, and then recording a voice message.
A similar problem occurs in both network-based instant connect communication and conventional mobile telephone communication when a call is already underway and the call terminates. Two users are communicating via a network-based instant connect call or a conventional mobile telephone call when the call is dropped or is otherwise terminated. The call may terminate because the network is overloaded, one or both of the users moves out of network coverage, a device has insufficient power or for any other reason. A sending user may be in the middle of explaining something to the receiving user, or may still have something to say to the receiving user when the call is terminated. The sending user may desire to leave the receiving user a voice message in order to complete the discussion or so that the sending user does not forget what was being discussed before having the opportunity to finish the discussion later. However, the sending user cannot leave a message for the receiving user without taking some additional action already discussed such as sending an MMS or SMS message or calling the receiving user to leave a voicemail or other voice message.
While conventional MMS, SMS, and voice messaging systems may be convenient in certain circumstances, none of these options permits a user to automatically and easily create a voice message after either a terminated network-based instant connect communication session with another user, or a terminated mobile phone communication session which is already underway before termination. What is needed, therefore, is improved voice messaging service to handle terminated communication sessions for both network-based instant connect communications and conventional mobile phone communications.